Chapter 5: A House Of Cards
Brick's POV
"The key to a simple life is a diligent mind. That's what I always say," Buttercup told me as she observed my erecting of the first card, the Ten of Diamonds, for a house of cards.
"That's an interesting philosophy, Buttercup, but don't you make C's and D's?"
"Oh, go to hell," she joked.
"Been there, done that," I reminded her, "and man, does it smell!" The card was almost exactly where I wanted it when a soothing noise fluttered among the air waves. Contemplating over whether or not to look up, I finally decided to take a break from this card. Buttercup immediately crawled in to take control over the construction.
Blossom stood there with a violin in her hands. He proceeded to play extended notes that carried on for several seconds. It was a serene spectacle which was a delight for us all. Funniest part is that I don't ever remember Blossom playing violin... ever. Either way, she made some beautiful noises come out of that thing, and when she took a break after a few minutes, we all applauded.
" When did you ever start playing violin?" I asked curiously.
"Ever since eighth-grade orchestra!" She told me with a smile. My return smile hung in the air for a while.
"Ooh, ooh! Now play 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia," Boomer eagerly requested. Damn idiot. Don't ask her for too much! She giggled at his stupid request... and then started playing it flawlessly. Everybody started clapping for the background beat. I stood there, petrified in my own disbelief.
After she finished up, I leaned over and whispered into Buttercup's ear, "When did she start playing so good?"
"Eighth-grade orchestra," Blossom told me, again. Oh right, super-hearing. "I like to play."
After trying to recollect my mind, I got back down on my knees with Buttercup, who was already well on her way with the card house. Scratch that, she made a card tower that was almost up to her waist.
"How do you do that?" I asked her, shocked at her progress.
"The key is to zone out to everything around you, and focus on nothing more than the bottom edge of the next card. At least that's what I do," she told me.
"Well, for zoning everything out, you're really talking to me, a lot."
"I'm taking a mental break. Already more than halfway through, and I haven't stopped once. I though you were helping me on this, too!" she reminded me.
"I gotta take a leak!" Boomer shakily stood up and blurted, "Where's the nearest bathroom? This one's gonna be hefty!"
"Upstairs, down the hall, to the-" Bubbles tried to say, but was abruptly cut-off.
"No time! I'll just do what I usually do!"
"I don't even wanna know."
Boomer was sweating profusely, as well as developing a major twitch. He threw open the front door and levitated out into the rain. We heard him unzip his pants and sigh many sighs of relief.
"Are you serious right now?" Blossom asked me, "He actually does this?"
"Believe it or not... yes, he does."
Boomer floated back inside, dripping wet. He tilted his head back as rain water raced down his face from his mop of hair.
"You'd better not..." Buttercup warned him, foreseeing what he was preparing to do as she prepared to place the last card. Her prediction was correct. He shook like a dog, and water drops went everywhere in the foyer and even into the living room. For Buttercup, everything in the world transferred over into slow-motion as a stray drop flew directly towards her tower. "Nnnnoooooooooo!" she shouted in terror as the droplet streaked towards its target.
She dove in front of her project and intercepted the full force of the near-microscopic water drop, and then came to rest on the floor with a tiny thud. She immediately sat up and watched her cards, wincing. To everyone's disbelief, the tower remained alright. In a sigh of relief, she took a deep breath wiped some sweat from her brow... which struck one of the middle cards and toppled the tower.
"Dammit!" she screamed and pounded her fist into the carpet. "Now, one of the cards is denser than the others! I can't rebuild with a dense card!" She rolled onto her back and sighed.
"Sorry, Buttercup," Boomer apologized, still occasionally dripping.
"It's alright... but it doesn't make you any less of a retard for pissing in the rain!"